Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Rabbits are producing thermal energy in Sweden

A technology that uses “bio fuel” arouses conflicting reactions among the inhabitants of Swedish town, Stockholm because it uses as fuel, rabbits !A heating system in central Sweden is fueled with the bodies of thousands of rabbits, and the heat resulted from their incineration is used for heating a nearby town.The rabbits come from Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, where there’s an annual practice of “thinning” the rabbits through an organized hunt.The rabbits are not born in Sweden, the population was formed from domestic rabbits, kept as pets, that have escaped or were abandoned by their owners.Multiplying rapidly, the rabbits destroy the parks and other green areas of the city, if their number is not kept under control.As they have no natural enemies in the city, the rabbits are “thin out” with the aid of professional hunters, who shoot a few thousand annually.The frozen rabbit corpses are then transported to the thermal plant, where are chopped and mixed with other organic matter like wood chips, peat or household waste, forming a fuel burned in special installations.In Stockholm, the metod has aroused heated discussions, the most vehement reaction came, of course, from organizations that fight for animal rights.